Black and white January

Naturally curly.

January, ah, new beginnings. Simple, clean, fresh, new. This blog is going to be all those things in the hopes of a burst of creativity in 2014. I couldn't find one artwork/creativity challenge out there that spoke to my goals for this upcoming year, so I'm just making my own [Creativity 2014]. Anyone else who would like to join me, feel free - I've been so inspired by the work of others lately I couldn't resist breathing new life into my own endeavors!

Though I often distract myself from a single project completion by the sheer variety of artwork/crafts/projects I do, I no longer feel limited to watercolor or sketchbook drawings (though they are still very relevant to me). Photography, embroidery, and mixed media of many kinds has taken over so much of my creative life it would be a shame not to include those. To jumpstart the creative drive, here's a list of broad topics I'll be working on:

January & February: black and white, any media or subject
March & April: music (tune) or song lyrics-inspired illustrations, drawn or embroidered
May & June: people/portraits, any media
July & August: buildings/architecture, any media
September & October: scary/horror/nightmares/fears, any media
November & December: food, any media

At the beginning of each new topic (roughly every two months), I'll put a brief explanation of what that subject or topic means to me. If there's a kindred soul or several who'd like to do this with me, I am open to adding your interpretation as well as your artwork.

I look forward to Creativity 2014 - the Syncopated Sketchbook renewed.

Peach Delight - Color Fun!

I say this painting is color fun, because there's nothing better (to me) in art than complementary colors that play so well together. Ripe peaches have such gorgeous warm color tones; dark maroons, bright reds, oranges, school-bus yellows, and of course, the actual "peach" color... there's no way to combine them wrong. The complements to those warm colors are cool - royal blues, periwinkle, purples, and even some muddy greens. I haven't been keeping track of my painting time so vigilantly anymore, but I know this painting took less than 30 minutes to complete. Peach Study, watercolor, 6"x9".

Summer Painting

Back in early July, I painted this yellow daylily, which we have growing in a very non-conspicuous place on the side of the garage. The true color of the flower was eye-poppingly bright, but paint can only do so much to render those amazing colors found in nature! I enjoyed painting much larger than my usual sketches, this was on 9"x12" thin (too thin) watercolor paper. I am still used to working smaller but enjoyed the splattering and other fun effects I can  use more to my advantage on a larger painting. Daylily, watercolor, 9"x12".

Paul Bielewicz here! This is an illustration that I made for my daughter Natalie for her second birthday. Natalie loves tigers, so I thought it would be fun to create a "special" illustration for her (note her name hidden in the tiger's stripes!). She loved it!

The illustration is 5.5" x 8" and is ink and watercolor.

Banana Muffin

"Banana Muffin," watercolor, 6" x 6"

A tasty homemade banana muffin, captured with some wet-in-wet technique and splattering. I am not sure how long this little painting took, but I bet it wasn't much more than 20 minutes. The color scheme is a little lackluster, as the flavor of this little treat does seem to warrant some brighter colors!

Citrus Delight

"Lemon-Lime," watercolor and water-soluble crayon, 5 1/2" x 8".

I never tire of classic food (or not-so-classic food) still life. This painting started out as a basic watercolor but drawing with water-soluble crayon over the top, rewetting and then painting again gave it a new intensity that I really like. Without being constrained to a 20-minute timeframe, the benefit is that I still work quickly and with purpose. But I am free to spend 30-40 minutes on a small painting like this, seeing it closer to completion. Is a painting ever truly finished?

Warm Weather Painting

"Delft Duck," watercolor, 5 1/2" x 8".

"June Strawberries," watercolor, 5 1/2" x 8".

My blog has languished in need of an update for some time now, so here's a couple small paintings I've done recently. I have several others, so I will update more in a few days. Watercolor painting is much more enjoyable to me outside in the warm weather; the paint dries on the paper quickly and I can accomplish more in a shorter period of time. Besides, I enjoy being outside, even if the occasional leaf, cotton tree fuzz or bug lands in my paint or water. I guess you could call that "added texture" if it ends up in the painting.

Not being limited to a 20 minute timeframe, I have been more experimental with paint colors and splattering. I usually work on small paintings in one session, but the strawberry painting had to be put away before it was done. When I came back to it another day, I gave it loose washes of bright yellow green and pink, and it immediately improved. I am not always patient enough to revisit or rework a piece, but now I want to to see what effects I can get with some other techniques and revisit some of my 20 minute sketches from last year. The sky's the limit with sketching this way!